TAG TUESDAY: Coffee Book Tag

1. Black: Name a series that’s tough to get into but has hardcore fans.Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. I still have not read LOTR. I know, it is a travesty, but the books are so long and dense that I feel like I would only be able to do them justice if I read them during a holiday at some point. I do not want to rush through them during one of my semesters when I already have a ton of reading to do. It has to be a time when I can fully dedicate myself to the series and read them thoroughly and I have not been able to do that yet. Also, all my friends who are fans of this series are so hardcore and it makes it even more intimidating to embark on reading this thing.

2. Peppermint mocha: Name a book that gets more popular during the winter or a festive time of year.Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. I think I am of this opinion because I got most of my HP books as Christmas presents over the years and some of the films came out during Christmas time. This means that I would often read the books in the days following the Christmas eve. I just associate them with the holiday season.

3. Hot chocolate: What is your favourite children’s book?The Gondolier’s Cat by William Corlett. I read this so many times, mostly because of the art style of the illustrations, but also because of the very simple uplifting story. Plus I have loved cats since I was 2, so stories about them were a hit right off the bat

4. Double shot of espresso: Name a book that kept you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor / A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. Both of these were nerve-wrecking and I stayed up much too late to finish them.
Unfortunately, the final book in Taylor’s trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, really disappointed me, it wrapped up too neatly and some of the conflicts seemed so redundant because they were fixed so quickly. I am just crossing my fingers that the same thing will not happen with A Conjuring of Light, the final book in Schwab’s trilogy.

5. Starbucks: Name a book you see everywhere.Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. It might be the colourful cover that makes it stand out so much, but I seem to see it everywhere in shops. I have not read anything by her, and from what I have read of the premises for most of her books I do not think I will any time soon. They do not sound that interesting to me.
In addition to this, one of her most popular books Eleanor & Park has been heavily criticized by Asian communities for relying on a lot of racist stereotypes. I do not know about you, but when Asian people tell me that the Asian characters in a book are portrayed in a racist way and even provide examples of said racism, it really discourages from reading that book and also makes me hesitant in regards to reading other books by that author.

6. That hipster coffee shop: Give a book by an indie author a shoutout
Of the top of my head I will say The Vegetarian by Han Kang, because she is not that well-known in the west, and I think more people should check her out. That being said, I am not entirely sure what the title indie author entails: Is it someone who is self-published or someone that is not well-known or something completely different? Can one be an indie author if one has received any accolades?

7. Oops! I accidentally got decaf: Name a book you were expecting more from.The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. It sounded promising I loved the world building and the corruption and the themes and in general I am a fan of climate fiction.
I cannot look at this book, though, without thinking of and resenting its treatment of its female characters and especially its depiction of rape. I am not saying to remove rape from books completely as these are experiences women go through. However, I do have an issue with the fact that the author decided to flesh out the rape scenes to the point of fetishization, and then later when the same woman is having consensual sex with someone she is devoted to… he cuts away, as if it is dirty and disgusting. The horrific details of the rape scenes he leaves in, but actual sex is too much for the reader. That is honestly disgusting to me. There are several ways to imply or suggest that she is being sexually abused, in fact the book has a scene where she cleans herself that could easily have been worded in a way that would make the reader understand how the abuse affects her. Instead he uses the scene to describe how the water caresses her every curve and runs inbetween her buttocks. Ugh.

8. The perfect blend: Name a book or series that was both bitter and sweet but ultimately satisfying.1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. This was my first experience with Murakami and I have only read the first book in the series, but I loved every single page of it. It was the kind of experience that made me curse at myself for not trying to read Murakami before. And this might seem ironic considering that I despise Hemingway, because Murakami has stated that good ole Ernie is one of his influences. But I have also only read this one book by Murakami and to be honest, he is already miles ahead of Hemingway in regards to writing female characters.
The book was horrifying, well-written, cringey and wonderful all at the same time and I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to read the rest of the series.

Tag Tuesday is my second Tuesday segment. Here I take tags from different blogs or booktubers and try to answer them whether I have been tagged or not, though I would of course prefer the former, so please feel free to tag me.